Happy Birthday!
I was going to put in her "real age" but thought I would let her be 39 for a few more years. Have a great day.
Sabillasville, Maryland farm
Clark Travels
Our Geocaches ---
http://www.travbuddy.com/maps/6730401
I have been getting more and more spam from bloggers since I let anyone respond to the blog. One way to stop the spam is to cut off anonymous comments. It is very easy and painless to get a Gmail email account and use it to post on blogs. You don't have to actually use the account, but it gives you a portal into my blog.
NOTE: Double click photos to enlarge them and links will also be shown in red.
http://www.travbuddy.com/maps/6730401
I have been getting more and more spam from bloggers since I let anyone respond to the blog. One way to stop the spam is to cut off anonymous comments. It is very easy and painless to get a Gmail email account and use it to post on blogs. You don't have to actually use the account, but it gives you a portal into my blog.
NOTE: Double click photos to enlarge them and links will also be shown in red.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Petersburg National Battlefield
Grant has a very strong interest in battlefields and anything concerning military events and equipment so this will be an underlying theme of many of the posts while he is traveling with us.
We chose to visit the Eastern Front Battlefield visitor's center and the fortifications around that area. The Union Army tried to assault the Confederate capital of Richmond and failed in each attempt at capturing the city. Petersburg, VA was south of Richmond and was a railroad and highway hub from the south leading into Richmond. It was decided to attack Petersburg and cut off the critical supplies needed in Richmond. It took the North almost 10 months to accomplish this with huge casualities on both sides. There is too much history about the battle here for me to go into, so I won't try to detail the events. Suffice to say that after 10 months Gen'l R E Lee retreated from Richmond on April 1, 1865 and surrendered at Appomattox a week later.
It was a very hot and humid day, however Grant checked out a number of the gun emplacements and we toured by car the rest of this park. If you are ever in the Petersburg, VA area and have an interest in the Civil War, then this should be on your bucket list.
After seeing all the sights we stopped by a Five Guys hamburger place for lunch. It wasn't one of the best Five Guys places we have visited. The hamburgers were burnt to a crisp and greasy, however the French Fries were good. We did appreciate the refills on our drinks and took advantage of that.
After lunch we drove over to visit with our good friends Carolyn & Mann at their home. We first met them at Long Key SP in the Florida Keys in 2000 when they pulled in next to us. Mann invited us over for "Happy Hour" and we hit it off with them from the beginning. We have camped with them a number of times over the years in the Keys and other places including one year when they spent a month in Tucson.
We chatted non stop catching up on events and plans. Carolyn even made me move from the couch to "her" chair. I thought that was considerate, but found out that she wanted to be closer to Gerry so they could carry on their own conversation. Mann and I spent most of the time talking about RVs and computers.
Carolyn prepared a meat lasagna and also a vegetable lasagna for dinner. Mann is trying the Vegan diet and after 6 weeks and swears by it. I tried a little of the vegetable lasagna and thought it was quite tasty, but preferred the meat one.
It was getting late by then and past Grant's bedtime so we drove back to the campground. That turned out to be a little adventure also since the road back had a bridge out and was closed down. Backtracking was the order of the night and thankfully we knew the area fairly well and managed to make a long detour down two lane roads to get back. Once we got close to the park the oncoming lane of the narrow road was non stop traffic. We arrived back at the park just after the concert here in the park was over. It was an outside concert and a heavy rain shower had passed through during the event and everyone was soaked. At least there wasn't any lightening that I heard about.
That was our day, how was yours?
We chose to visit the Eastern Front Battlefield visitor's center and the fortifications around that area. The Union Army tried to assault the Confederate capital of Richmond and failed in each attempt at capturing the city. Petersburg, VA was south of Richmond and was a railroad and highway hub from the south leading into Richmond. It was decided to attack Petersburg and cut off the critical supplies needed in Richmond. It took the North almost 10 months to accomplish this with huge casualities on both sides. There is too much history about the battle here for me to go into, so I won't try to detail the events. Suffice to say that after 10 months Gen'l R E Lee retreated from Richmond on April 1, 1865 and surrendered at Appomattox a week later.
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| Grant checking his cannons. |
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| All ready to do battle. |
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| Very nice field artillery piece. |
It was a very hot and humid day, however Grant checked out a number of the gun emplacements and we toured by car the rest of this park. If you are ever in the Petersburg, VA area and have an interest in the Civil War, then this should be on your bucket list.
After seeing all the sights we stopped by a Five Guys hamburger place for lunch. It wasn't one of the best Five Guys places we have visited. The hamburgers were burnt to a crisp and greasy, however the French Fries were good. We did appreciate the refills on our drinks and took advantage of that.
After lunch we drove over to visit with our good friends Carolyn & Mann at their home. We first met them at Long Key SP in the Florida Keys in 2000 when they pulled in next to us. Mann invited us over for "Happy Hour" and we hit it off with them from the beginning. We have camped with them a number of times over the years in the Keys and other places including one year when they spent a month in Tucson.
We chatted non stop catching up on events and plans. Carolyn even made me move from the couch to "her" chair. I thought that was considerate, but found out that she wanted to be closer to Gerry so they could carry on their own conversation. Mann and I spent most of the time talking about RVs and computers.
Carolyn prepared a meat lasagna and also a vegetable lasagna for dinner. Mann is trying the Vegan diet and after 6 weeks and swears by it. I tried a little of the vegetable lasagna and thought it was quite tasty, but preferred the meat one.
It was getting late by then and past Grant's bedtime so we drove back to the campground. That turned out to be a little adventure also since the road back had a bridge out and was closed down. Backtracking was the order of the night and thankfully we knew the area fairly well and managed to make a long detour down two lane roads to get back. Once we got close to the park the oncoming lane of the narrow road was non stop traffic. We arrived back at the park just after the concert here in the park was over. It was an outside concert and a heavy rain shower had passed through during the event and everyone was soaked. At least there wasn't any lightening that I heard about.
That was our day, how was yours?
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
On The Road Again
We spent the weekend getting in some last visits with Barb & Henry, Larry Jr. & Jane and preparing for our departure from the Concord area and taking Grant with us. After almost 7 weeks there, we had a lot of rearranging of "things" and repacking some of the bins. After all of that, we actually had some open space in one bin. Not for long I am sure.
Larry Jr. helped me get the Saturn hooked up last night and a few other chores that I wasn't looking forward to. Jr. & Jane brought Grant over after work and we all enjoyed a Taco dinner. They bid a fond farewell to Grant and headed home to 3-4 weeks of quiet in the household.
This morning we woke up early and started putting more last minute odds and ends away, had breakfast and hit the road. I wanted to get to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, VA before the afternoon rain storm came through. We had an easy drive here except for some rough pavement on I-85, but there wasn't a lot of traffic so that made it great. We did run into a brief downpour for a few miles, but nothing of any significance.
The campground has 50 amp electric and water, but not sewer hookup. That will work for us since we plan on leaving Friday morning for West Virginia for 4-5 days and visit with Cassie, Jack and family before we take Grant on his camping trip through PA & NY.
While we are here we will meet up with Carolyn and Mann in the afternoon and evening for the next couple days. They have travel plans, so this will be a short visit with them.
Larry Jr. helped me get the Saturn hooked up last night and a few other chores that I wasn't looking forward to. Jr. & Jane brought Grant over after work and we all enjoyed a Taco dinner. They bid a fond farewell to Grant and headed home to 3-4 weeks of quiet in the household.
This morning we woke up early and started putting more last minute odds and ends away, had breakfast and hit the road. I wanted to get to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, VA before the afternoon rain storm came through. We had an easy drive here except for some rough pavement on I-85, but there wasn't a lot of traffic so that made it great. We did run into a brief downpour for a few miles, but nothing of any significance.
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| Grant as co-pilot. |
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| Mr cool. |
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| Grant burning off energy at Rest Area. |
The campground has 50 amp electric and water, but not sewer hookup. That will work for us since we plan on leaving Friday morning for West Virginia for 4-5 days and visit with Cassie, Jack and family before we take Grant on his camping trip through PA & NY.
While we are here we will meet up with Carolyn and Mann in the afternoon and evening for the next couple days. They have travel plans, so this will be a short visit with them.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
July 4, 2013 Happy Independence Day USA
Happy Independence Day to everyone out there reading my blog. It's great to live in this great country of ours and to have our freedoms and be able to celebrate them in peace. Thanks to all those who served in the military past and present who have contributed to this freedom. In addition, thanks to all the Foreign Service members who are stationed in dangerous posts throughout the world. It was a comfort to know that our government & military would come to our aid in the past when we were serving our country.
One of the highlights for us has always been the parades and fireworks. In the past, local & state politicians would take this opportunity to give long speeches and promise you everything. We were spared this on this 4th since nobody is running for office this fall.
We went to the Harrisburg, NC, 4th of July parade this morning very early and had a good time. Barbara was working a booth along the parade route and we managed to find her group and sit next to the booth and visit with her a little.
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| Barbara, 2nd from right. |
Gerry took over 100 pictures during the parade and I have narrowed them down to a few that highlight the parade and some of the participants.
This will be a two part posting today. Barb, Henry, Gerry, Larry Jr., Jane, Grant and I are going to see the new Lone Ranger movie today and then adjourn to Larry & Jane's house for a 4th of July picnic and then some fireworks. So, check back later to see how our day went.
Well, it is later now and we are back at the motorhome. The gang went to the movies today and saw The Lone Ranger and enjoyed it very much. A number of people have said they didn't care for it, but we all found it entertaining. It sure wasn't like any other Lone Ranger movie we've seen in the past. Lots of action, Tonto was the star and the Lone Ranger was a wuss. I won't go into any further description of the movie, but check it out and see for yourself if you like it.
After the movie we all went to Larry Jr & Jane's house for a traditional 4th of July dinner. Traditional is hotdogs, hamburgers, baked bean, homemade potato salad, snacks, watermelon and adult beverages. Ryan, Dee and Griffin joined us for dinner and we had a nice long chat with them and Gerry got her baby fix. It was great seeing them and all being together for the holiday.
Larry Jr. shot off the fireworks he bought on Wednesday afternoon. He had a very nice selection and we enjoyed seeing the display. His neighbors also had fireworks and two of them had the ones that shot up in the air and burst apart. The four neighbors should get together next year and have a great display. It sounded like WWIII out there on his porch for a while with all the fireworks in the area.
We visited for a while and then headed back home. We are worn out and ready for bed. Wouldn't trade the day for anything and had a great time.
Hope you all enjoyed the 4th of July celebrations as much as we did. Happy Birthday USA!!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Firework Shopping & Last Day Of School
Today was the a big event for Grant since it was his last day of school for the summer. He was as happy as can be to start his vacation and possibly sleep in later.
After picking him up we headed to South Carolina to buy some fireworks. They have a number of places that sell fireworks and they are located right on the SC/NC border just south of Pineville, NC. The traffic was a nightmare getting into the parking lots and the heavy rain didn't make it any easier.
Larry Jr. is a certifiable pyro and always looks forward to shooting off fireworks. He prefers to do it in his own yard rather than get all tangled up in traffic at the different fireworks events. This year was no exception.
I think Grant is a well on his way to becoming a pyro person also. If he could have, he would have spent a ton of money in the store, but Jr kept him on a tight leash and got out of there without breaking the bank.
We then had to fight the traffic back to Jr.'s house to drop them off and then a short visit to Barbara & Henry's before we returned to the motor home. We were both beat and needed some down time in order to recover enough to start all over again on the 4th.
After picking him up we headed to South Carolina to buy some fireworks. They have a number of places that sell fireworks and they are located right on the SC/NC border just south of Pineville, NC. The traffic was a nightmare getting into the parking lots and the heavy rain didn't make it any easier.
Larry Jr. is a certifiable pyro and always looks forward to shooting off fireworks. He prefers to do it in his own yard rather than get all tangled up in traffic at the different fireworks events. This year was no exception.
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| Jr asking sales person for advice. |
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| Grant, Jr & Me |
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| Grant |
I think Grant is a well on his way to becoming a pyro person also. If he could have, he would have spent a ton of money in the store, but Jr kept him on a tight leash and got out of there without breaking the bank.
We then had to fight the traffic back to Jr.'s house to drop them off and then a short visit to Barbara & Henry's before we returned to the motor home. We were both beat and needed some down time in order to recover enough to start all over again on the 4th.
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